Watch Au Bonheur des Dames For Free

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Good movie but grossly overrated

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

More than a film - or a good adaptation of Zola novel- it is a fascinating experience, escaping of definitions. sure, impressionism, close -up, editing, noble message, love story. and more than an old film. for its modernism. for its science to reflect the states in the most inspired manner. for the status of cinema lesson for each viewer. for the art to give to a mute film a force who remains fresh long time after its last scene. because it is a story about Paris and, in same measure, a story about values, more usefull today than in XIX century. and this does it a brilliant example of inspired cinema.or authentic art.

Only a handful of film directors have fully exploited the medium to its utmost effect. After seeing this film I must include Julien Duvivier along with Hitchcock, Eisenstein, etc. as a master of the art. Duvivier doesn't just show you the mad rush of crowds of people but through his use of camera movement makes you feel that you too have been swept up in the rush. I have to admit that a large part of the film's impact comes through the new score by Gabriel Thibaudeau which helps express the inner feelings of the characters. The combination of the score and editing in the shopkeeper's crackup sequence is so intense that I felt I was going mad myself. Clearly, Duvivier was familiar with Eisenstein's work and theories. The ending was a disappointment. The entire film makes you feel for the little guy but in the end the film makes an about face and seems to say that progress is good no matter what the cost. Perhaps this ending was demanded by the film's financial backers. Nevertheless, the shortcomings of the story only slightly weaken the impact of this powerful work of art.

This silent version of Zola's classic was impossible to see for a long time.Zola's heirs (concerning a novel from the 19Th century) were suing Duvivier's (video cassettes and DVDs) producer René Château ,reportedly.That may account for the disappearance of such other great Duvivier movies as "la fête à Henriette" or "Au Royaume des Cieux" (the latter was available on cassette a long time ago).In the Rougon-Macquart saga ,"Au Bonheur des Dames" is far from being one of my favorites.The depictions are impressive,but the story is melodramatic ,particularly the ending .Duvivier has transposed the action to his time ,the early thirties.It's not a big problem,since the director introduces ,in the first sequences ,sandwich men and advertising leaflets coming down from the sky.And the neons as well.That said,"Au Bonheur des Dames" displays a director who hadn't found himself yet.As every French cine buff knows,Duvivier was the film noir master,the poet of evil.He was also a past master when it came to depicting a place ,the Halles de Paris or Bastille Day.Actually,the true Duvivier would appear in his next effort "David Golder" (1931)Best sequences: Genevieve 's fiancé ,telling the old shopkeeper Baudu how seedy his place is :the cobwebs ,the old furniture and the dilapidated walls speak louder than words;Baudu ,becoming mad as he hears the noises of the walls falling down; A giant worker with a pick destroying everything;and finally Denise's face ,in the last sequences ,who tends to to show that far from being an ingenue,she is a potential business woman and the story does not tell if she will show compassion for people who fall by the wayside.Mouret's fête by the river will become a Duvivier's permanent feature too.Even at his nastiest,at his darkest,there will always be a cause for celebration: the Guinguettes in "La Belle Equipe" and "Voici le Temps des Assassins" ,the ball in "la fête à Henriette" or the fair in "Boulevard" .But Duvivier was still searching for an identity at the time and there are weaknesses in his film:the relationship Denis/Mouret is as bland as that in Cayatte's talkie (1943).Blame it on the actor,Pierre de Guingand ,because Dita Parlo's talent is incontestable.Ditto for Armand Bour whose performance would be dwarfed by Michel Simon's (who else?)a decade later.I will not make ,anyway,any comparison between the silent and the talkie.Today's audience will fatally favor the latter over the former. Every cine buff has got to see both and make up his mind.NB.In Zola's saga ,"Au Bonheur des Dames" is the follow -up to "Pot-Bouille" (Octave Mouret is featured in both books).In 1957,Duvivier transferred to the screen that book,with only fair results .The movie was slagged off by Truffaut who (for once) was not wrong.Gerard Philippe was cast as Mouret.

Sunday May 28, 4:00pm The EgyptianSaturday July 15, 1:40pm The Castro (San Francisco)"Upon the ruins, the future is built!"A train pulls into a Paris station and off steps Denise Baudu (Dita Parlo), an orphan who has come to live and work with relatives in their dress shop. She arrives to discover her Uncle's tiny establishment is about to be swallowed up by its enormous neighbor, Au Bonheur des dames (The Ladies Paradise), and is forced to seek employment there. Every frame of Julien Duvivier's extraordinary film is composed with an obvious mastery of innovative photography and editing, presenting a vision of harsh urban life and palatial grandeur in a unique and often unexpected way. The film combines this breathtaking visual tableau with a story of heartless progress and its consequences. Duvivier fails to extract great depth from his actors but perfectly times a fascinating use of montage to punctuate key elements of the story. The humor is dry and very Parisian, while the tragedy is consuming and operatic.